COTONOU, November 28, 2016 ─ In the commune of Zè in Agbodjèdo, Daniel Koudessa and his six partners in the pineapple producer village cooperative are enjoying newfound success. After having piloted...

BANIKOARA, September 22, 2016 ─ Alexandrine Same Ibrahima arrived in Banikoara in northern Benin with her husband in 2014. As she was pregnant, the first order of business was to seek prenatal care at...

DAKAR, March 10, 2016 – Over the last 15 years, West African governments and the international community have been successful at expanding access to primary schooling and yet, a ground-breaking regional...

VEKKY-DAHO, January 22, 2016—For as long as they can remember, the residents of Sô-Ava, a municipality in the Atlantique Department of Benin, relied on pirogues, or local canoes, to travel between villages....

The ways in which Africa’s natural resources are managed have a direct impact on countries’ ability to meet development objectives. Over 30 percent of the income of the poorest population quintile in Sub-Saharan...

Benin has become the first member of OHADA, an initiative to harmonize business laws across 17 West and Central Africa nations, to implement the entreprenant status. The official launch took place in Cotonou...

COTONOU, May 6, 2015 —The fear of reliving the devastation caused by the 2010 floods is slowly dissipating, becoming merely a bad dream for the residents of Cotonou, Benin’s economic capital, and those...

Sebastien Gnonhoussou has struggled most of his life to support his family. Sitting amidst piles of colorful fabrics and a manual sewing machine, he tells the story of his long and interesting journey...

WASHINGTON, March 4, 2015—The Niger River is one of the few perennial sources of water in the arid and semi-arid lands of Africa’s Sahel region. For thousands of years, the river has supported communities...

West Africa supplies nine percent of the world’s bauxite and eight percent of its gold. It hosts some of the world’s largest iron ore deposits, prompting massive infrastructure investments. Properly...

Rwanda’s lush mountains and volcanic soil make the quality of its tea leaves exceptional. Tea is one of the country’s top exports and a priority of multiple government ministries working together to support...

WASHINGTON, April 10, 2014 – On the sidelines of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings, the Republic of Benin and the World Bank signed three funding agreements totaling $85 million...

Registering a business is still a daunting task for most small entrepreneurs in Africa. What if a package of combined incentives—easier registration steps, advice on tax filing, training on accounting...

The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) are on track to help relieve 39 countries of approximately US$114 billion in debt through two programs designed to help poor nations free up resources...

COTONOU, October 4, 2013 - In Benin, the government has enlisted a powerful ally to combat malnutrition. In communities where chronic malnutrition rates are particularly high, grandmothers have been marshaled...

When the World Bank first teamed up with the European Space Agency to demonstrate how Earth observation can work for international development, a small climate change adaptation project on the coast of...

BAMEZOUN, May 6, 2013 - In Bamezoun, a sacred forest located in the commune of Aguégués, a region irrigated by the Ouémé river in the south-east of the country, the villagers did not realize that wood...

Rapid urbanization and climate change are reshaping and exacerbating disaster risk. Together, they have added urgency to the task of building resilience in communities and countries around the world. Climate...